19. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM 1. Find out who they are. 2. Find out what they do. 3. Find out what they want. 4. Find out how they see themselves. 5. Find out how they spend their day-to-day. Ask them ﬁve sets of questions:

20. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM 1. Find out who they are. 2. Find out what they do. 3. Find out what they want. 4. Find out how they see themselves. 5. Find out how they spend their day-to-day. Ask them ﬁve sets of questions: Company name? Age? How long have they been in their current role? How large is their team? Why do they do what they do?

21. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM 1. Find out who they are. 2. Find out what they do. 3. Find out what they want. 4. Find out how they see themselves. 5. Find out how they spend their day-to-day. Ask them ﬁve sets of questions: What motivates them? What is the end game for them? What are their aspirations? Why did they change from company A to company B?

22. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM 1. Find out who they are. 2. Find out what they do. 3. Find out what they want. 4. Find out how they see themselves. 5. Find out how they spend their day-to-day. Ask them ﬁve sets of questions: What are their hopes and dreams? What content are they attracted to or read now? What do they think about all day long?

23. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM 1. Find out who they are. 2. Find out what they do. 3. Find out what they want. 4. Find out how they see themselves. 5. Find out how they spend their day-to-day. Ask them ﬁve sets of questions: How do they compare themselves to co-workers? Do they think there’s more to learn about their profession? Do they hangout with their co- workers outside of work?

24. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM 1. Find out who they are. 2. Find out what they do. 3. Find out what they want. 4. Find out how they see themselves. 5. Find out how they spend their day-to-day. Ask them ﬁve sets of questions: What do they read? What do they share? How do they learn about new stuff? New tools? New articles? What do they hate about their day? What do they love?

30. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM We interviewed almost 100 people in different industries and roles – each a member of the audience we were trying to reach. We learned that: x Their days are too packed to focus attention on reading a lengthy article. x They want to see more content discussing ideas they can take immediate action on. x They just want to own at their job – many had a strong desire to control their own destiny. Case Study: SIDEKICK BLOG STRATEGY

31. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM So we took that qualitative insight and launched a blog with three key focuses: ü Publish concise content that puts high emphasis on direct tactics over fluffy explanations. ü Publish content from individual contributors, not managers. ü Publish the secrets to success from top performers. Case Study: SIDEKICK BLOG STRATEGY

63. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM Include a text-CTA towards the top of the post. The first URL hyperlinked in the post gets the most weight from Google.

64. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM Build a form right into the ending CTA. I love this. There’s no need to drive the reader to a landing page when this article and the value proposition of the CTA clearly explains the value of the offer. So simple, yet so brilliant.” @BobRuffolo

65. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM Or test smart CTAs to show relevant-offers. CTA for general blog visitors to offer. CTA for leads to move further down funnel.

66. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW WHAT WILL WORK BEST IS TO TEST IT.

67. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM Some web forms require more ﬁelds. We found that longer lead generation forms generated roughly 16% fewer leads than simply using a CTA image that navigates readers to a landing page. Case Study: HUBSPOT BLOG STRATEGY

79. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM When ﬁrst launching (or re-launching) a blog, invite people to read it. Before sending out email invitations, ensure you have a crisp message for why your blog is different than others.

80. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM When ﬁrst launching (or re-launching) a blog, invite people to read it. Before sending out email invitations, ensure you have a crisp message for why your blog is different than others. ü Can you describe your blog in one sentence?

81. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM When ﬁrst launching (or re-launching) a blog, invite people to read it. Before sending out email invitations, ensure you have a crisp message for why your blog is different than others. ü Can you describe your blog in one sentence? ü Would your researched persona read it?

82. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM We sent email invitations to three cohorts of people: 1. Content Contacts: Anyone who discovered our other content through forms on landing pages. 2. Churned Users: People who may no longer care about our product but may still care about our industry / best practices. 3. Email to Non-Users: Leads who may one day use our product, but haven’t yet. Case Study: SIDEKICK BLOG STRATEGY

83. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM We sent invitations to our current database. The copy reflected a well-thought out message that our audience research indicated would resonate with who we ultimately want reading our blog. Case Study: SIDEKICK BLOG STRATEGY We shared titles of the types of blog posts they’d find on our blog.

84. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM And we didn’t send them to a different page or form to subscribe – we already have their email, why ask for it again? Instead, we tracked who clicked on the CTA to subscribe and automatically added them to our subscriber list. Case Study: SIDEKICK BLOG STRATEGY We automatically collected any email that clicked on the CTA.

85. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM OUR READERS SHOULDN’T HAVE TO DO ANY EXTRA WORK TO DISCOVER OUR CONTENT. WE SHOULD.

99. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM Eventually we reached 60K subscribers. But only 22K of them were actively reading our content. So we removed the others from our subscriber list. Case Study: SIDEKICK BLOG STRATEGY

100. @ANUM | ANUMHUSSAIN.COM We sacriﬁced subscribers for success. We believe having a healthy list of engaged readers is far more important than having a large list of inactive readers. This also ensures our strategy is directed by those who care about us most. Case Study: SIDEKICK BLOG STRATEGY

7. LET’S SEE WHAT CHARACTERISTICS SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS POSSESS. Possess the mindset of getting it done through perseverance, hard work, effort and focus on outcome.

8. Inside the mind of an Entrepreneur CREATES A VISION TO ACHIEVE THE MISSION This means carefully considering all that you want your company to be before it even exists. It means imparting your vision, your dreams and your principles into the company right off the bat.

9. Inside the mind of an Entrepreneur KNOWS WHEN TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY As the top boss you have to take responsibility for both the good and bad that happens to the business.

10. Inside the mind of an Entrepreneur HAS AN ENTREPRENEUR PERSONALITY Becoming a successful entrepreneur is hard work that takes a dedication. Some of the personality and character traits required to become successful in this venture include organizational skills, the ability to handle pressure, a tolerance for risk, a strong mental drive, a competitive nature, a healthy outlook on life, a positive attitude, decisiveness, patience, optimism and pure strength.

11. Inside the mind of an Entrepreneur IS A TRUE LEARNER As a true learner, you know to focus your energy on what is necessary to succeed in life, which includes success in your business. The successful entrepreneur does what is necessary.

12. Inside the mind of an Entrepreneur HAS TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS A true entrepreneur is never off the clock, even though they know when to work and when to relax.

13. Inside the mind of an Entrepreneur CAN BREAK RULES WHEN NECESSARY Entrepreneurs have the mindset of breaking rules and looking for ways to do things differently. This means having a global perspective, always peering over the horizon, or at least towards it, to where the next big thing is waiting.

How I Hire: Look Past the Pedigree

1. How I Hire: Look Past the Pedigree By Linda Descano, CFA®, President and CEO, Women & Co., and Managing Director and Head of Content and Social, North America Marketing, Citi. BROUGHT TO YOU BY

2. 1. Credible: Is this someone with integrity and sound judgment, who is believable and trustworthy, and who will act in good faith, not just to the “letter” of a law/policy, but embrace and respect its spirit and intent?

3. 2. Competent: Is this person the “real deal”? Does s/he have the requisite skills, experiences and knowledge to be successful in this role?

4. 3. Cultural Fit: Is this someone with the values, outlook and behavior that is congruent with that of our organization and team?

5. 4. Can-do Attitude: Does s/he have a positive outlook with a bias to action? Is this someone who is resilient and results-oriented? Will s/he act like an owner and not just bring good ideas to the table, but also execute those ideas as well?

6. 5. Charitable: Is s/he singularly focused on his/her own success at the expense of others, or is this someone who uses his/her experience, knowledge and connections to elevate and benefit others?

7. 6. Change-oriented: Is this someone who embraces change and sees it as an opportunity for—or obstacle to— progress? Can s/he operate comfortably in a fast-paced, dynamic environment?

8. 7. Curious and Connected: Is this someone with a thirst for knowledge, who is willing to learn new ways and unlearn old ways? Is s/he actively engaged in industry conversations and well placed to bring fresh ideas, insights and perspective to the team?

9. 8. Communicator with Distinction: Can this person organize his/her ideas, get those ideas across and tailor the message to meet the needs of different audiences? Is s/he an acute listener who truly hears and understands the messages that others are sending?

10. Join the conversation! Connect: Professional Women’s Network, Powered by Ci:, is an online community on LinkedIn that helps women achieve the careers they want and discuss the issues relevant to their success. For more great insights from Connect members, check out the discussion: How I Hire Visit linkedin.com/womenconnect for more informaBon and to join the group!